The injury-hit Eagles entered the match having lost 15 of the past 19 derbies, including the past six.But
a six-goal blitz inside the opening 15 minutes and a four-goal haul to
Ross Glendinning medallist Josh Hill helped set up the 15.14 (104) to
11.14 (80) victory, despite the absence of star trio Nic Naitanui,
Jeremy McGovern, and Mark LeCras.Dockers defender Alex Silvagni
faces the prospect of missing the start of the finals after being
reported for a crude elbow on Jamie Cripps midway through the second
quarter.Cripps was left with an injured jaw after copping the
swinging elbow from Silvagni in an incident that occurred 80 metres off
the ball.The young Eagles forward was clearly distressed while
being assessed on the bench, but he managed to return in the third
quarter.West Coast defender Will Schofield might also be set for a
stint on the sidelines after being subbed out with a knee injury in the
third term.Sunday's result means West Coast edges ahead 22-20 in
the Western Derby ledger, but more importantly it puts them in the box
seat to nail down second spot.The Eagles will seal second spot if
they beat the Bulldogs (home), Adelaide (away), and St Kilda (home) in
the final three rounds.The Dockers are still likely to win the minor premiership despite their slip-up.Fremantle dominated the second half on the back of Nat Fyfe's brilliance and Aaron Sandilands' ruck dominance.But
West Coast managed to snare enough goals against the run of play to
secure an overdue victory against the Eagles' arch-rivals.West Coast was keen to make a fast start to the match after conceding the first 11 goals in a round-three derby loss.And the Eagles' wishes were answered as key forwards Josh Kennedy and Jack Darling weaved their magic early.The
star spearheads pulled down a series of big marks and kicked one goal
each to give West Coast a 44-9 edge at the first break.Fyfe
tallied just two disposals in the opening quarter, but the Brownlow
medal favourite shot to prominence in the second half as he, David
Mundy, and Sandilands willed their side into the match.Fremantle closed the margin from 41 points down to 17 late in the match.But a late goal to Darling sealed the deal in front of 41,959 fans.